


The Great Fall

by unniehey



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Death, Drabbles, Heartbreak, MAMA Era Powers (EXO), Mild Gore, Music Video: MAMA (EXO), Other, Queerplatonic Relationships, Red Force, Tree of Life, Violence, basically everyone's in a qpp, but i had a lot of feels after reading a lot of other ppls fics, it's not enough to be explicit but it's mature for a reason, red force and tree of life drabbles, sorry this is kind of depressing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 15:35:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23241916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unniehey/pseuds/unniehey
Summary: It's not easy trying to pick up the pieces after a devastating attack by the Red ForceSeriously, if you didn't read the tags: this story will contain death, mild gore, violence, and just general darker themes so take care of yourself
Relationships: EXO Ensemble/Everyone
Kudos: 3





	1. Aftermath

Suho felt completely and utterly lost without his co-leader. Sure, Kris had been happy to let Suho take charge when they were all together, but Kris had a way of taking care of the M team that helped take a lot of weight off Suho's shoulders. Of course, it was more than that. They'd always been more than soldiers in the same squadron. You don't spend millennia defending the tree of life and fighting for the forces of good side by side and not be more to each other than just members of a team.

And Kris had been so much to him in particular, especially when things got tough. When Suho was sick with worry about everyone's injuries after a battle or after hearing about a new attack or advancement from the Red Force, Kris was there to comfort him. He was there to hold him close and make him believe that everything would be okay as long as they all stuck together.

But he was wrong.

They'd all been together for that most recent and bloodiest of battles. All twelve of the guardians had stood together to defend the tree after all other defenses had failed, but they had fallen anyway. Suho's mind flashed with the awful feeling of his tether to Kris as a fellow guardian snapping. It was like having a limb severed from his own body. He'd cried out in pain and turned to see Kris' face cold and lifeless, his head detached from his body and a Red Force soldier standing over him with a bloodied blade.

Suho had been in shock, surely this couldn't happen. They were the guardians, the chosen ones. Their connection as twelve that tied them together when they were blessed by the tree as prime warriors was what made them so strong. They'd been through everything together, splitting the tree to protect it and hiding it in different universes, coming together again when they'd believed the Red Force had been sufficiently weakened, uniting as twelve as a sign of strength and triumph, only for the Red Force to come back with an overwhelming force that won battle after battle in their hunt for power.

Once Kris had fallen, they had all immediately felt the impact. They'd been strongest as twelve, not just because of sheer numbers, but because of their sacred connection as the twelve chosen guardians. Chanyeol's flames that had been burning blue with heat only seconds before had turned orange. Kai's teleportation had become slow and jittery, barely making it out of the way of attacks against him. Tao had become caught in a time loop, screaming silently in torturous hurt and pain at the loss of his leader.

The Red Force took advantage of this, pushing harder with their attacks and exploiting every weakness. In the corner of his eye as he'd been throwing as much water as he could manage at the enemies around him, he'd seen Baekhyun's bloodied and broken body lying on the ground. Suho knew he was still alive, could still feel their connection no matter how weak it was growing, but that was two guardians down and they were severely outnumbered now.

Luhan was next to truly fall, Suho felt the severing and knew it had been him. Somewhat less painful physically as their connection wasn’t as strong as Suho’s had been with Kris, but emotionally it hurt just as much. Through the dust, smoke, fog, and frost he hadn’t been able to see where he was or what had happened, but he later found out that a Red Force sword had gone straight through his heart while he was distracted trying to save Sehun.

_ “He was pushing back the attackers, throwing the swords from their hands before they could strike me. When I looked over… that Red Force bastard was already behind him…” _

Suho had known that the more of them that fell, the worse their chances of winning were getting and he’d had to weigh up in his mind whether or not their lives were worth the sacrifice to save the tree. In the mere seconds he’d had to contemplate this after Luhan’s death, he decided that there was no use in continuing this fight if they were all going to die and the tree would be taken anyway. He’d sent a message telepathically through their bond and as soon as he’d opened the link he could everyone’s pain and sorrow flood his brain. He fought to stay focused while he spoke to them and still continued to fight.

‘ _ Everyone, there’s no use. We’re outnumbered. We need to live to fight another day. I’m ordering everyone to retreat to the temple’ _

He’d felt everyone’s disappointment, followed by understanding and then acceptance. Kai told them to group up as much as possible and they did their best to follow his instructions. Once they had enough small groups formed to make it feasible, Kai switched his focus from fighting to retreating. In several quick bursts he was able to get everyone including the increasingly weakening Baekhyun into one of the temples on earth.

Everyone except for Tao. 

They knew Tao had been shaken out of his time loop by Luhan’s death and he’d heard the instructions by Suho and Kai, but when Kai flashed in to get the last group of Tao, Xiumin, and Chen he came in just in time to see a Red Force sword slice across his neck and chest. They’d tried to reach for him as he started choking on his own blood, but the soldier who’d gotten him and several others came towards them and Kai had had to make the most gut-wrenching decision of his life to save the three of them and leave Tao behind.

The bond didn’t sever quickly and cleanly as with the other two. Despite the distance they could still feel him choke and gurgle as he struggled to breath.

“We have to go back!” Chanyeol had yelled. “We have to save him! Lay can heal him!”

“They’ll be waiting for us. Anyone who goes back will be killed too,” Suho had said back to him with a sorrowful tone.

The last whimpers of life ached and stung in their minds.

“Can’t they at least finish him off,” Chen had said quietly and half into Xiumin’s arms that he’d buried his face into.

The others couldn’t bring themselves to say anything, but silently they agreed with him. Were they really so cruel as to not at least give him a quick and honourable death?

Finally, Tao’s pain went silent and they all winced and shuddered at the breaking of the tether.

So Suho felt lost; a leader on his own. Three of his closest allies and best friends lost to the void and having no idea how to begin to console or comfort those who remained. He didn’t even know how to handle his own emotions of loss and defeat.


	2. Shards

Lay had gotten to work on Baekhyun almost immediately after they’d all landed safely and although his injuries were bad and Lay’s powers were significantly weakened, he was beginning to at least come to consciousness.

It was salt in their wounds to feel Baekhyun’s realisation that both physically among them and also mentally through their bond that Luhan and Tao were also gone. They could feel him frantically searching through their connection and only finding the eight around him. They felt every ounce of his desperation at trying to find even a weak signal, but only discovering everyone else’s pain and flashes of memories of what had happened. He’d broken into sobs and Chanyeol pulled him into a tight hug.

The temple they were in had been cleared out and abandoned by the Red Force months ago. They were unlikely to come looking for them here and besides, they knew the tree had been their priority, not taking out the guardians; they’d just been in their way. It was cold and dark in the stone halls, but it also felt warm with the memories of happier times within these walls. They’d trained here together many centuries ago when things felt so much simpler.

Xiumin traced the symbols carved into the stone wall along one of the passages. He lingered on the ones of those who had fallen only hours earlier.

“Could we go back and get their bodies?” he asked Suho with a soft voice. “Their vessels should be taken care of properly.”

Suho ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “We have no idea when it’ll be safe to return. We don’t even know what’s going to happen to the tree, what they might do to it.”

The sacred grove in which the tree stood was no normal wordly place. It existed in the space between universes, connecting them all. The only way they’d have even a remotely safe way in or out would be with Kai now. The Red Force would be keeping a close eye on the portals set up at the major temples.

Xiumin had only asked to go back because he knew the ritual to return their souls to the tree. Their bodies had only been a conduit for their energy and life force gifted by the tree of life to help them fulfil their roles as guardians. But their souls were tied too closely to their physical forms and so in the death of their bodies, their souls would likely never be able to exist on the physical plane ever again. It was a risk they’d all knowingly taken when they’d sworn their oath as guardians. Xiumin thought the three would be happiest to be resting in the heart of the tree they sacrificed their lives protecting rather than being trapped dormant in their vessels or wandering the cosmos.   
But Suho was right. For the time being there would be no going back for them until they knew it was safe. Besides, the ritual could only be performed if the heart of the tree was still connected to them, something that might soon not be the case depending on the Red Forces intentions.

They instead decided in the meantime, in order to ease their aching hearts, to hold a ceremony in the main room of the temple. Kyungsoo carved their symbols into the back wall and above carved the words: ‘Bravely they gave their lives, may their souls find peace.’ 

Tears fell as they held hands and basked in the fresh symbols. Afterwards they shared stories of the fallen's heroics, the fun times they’d shared, and the love they’d shown to one another. They did their best to find courage to laugh and smile at the memories, it’s what they would have wanted for them.


End file.
